YZi Labs Reveals Hidden 10x BNB Treasury Stake in CEA Industries—What’s Buried in the Books?

An undisclosed ownership position—ten times larger than previously known—has been lurking within a company tied to the BNB treasury. YZi Labs just dragged it into the light.

The quiet accumulation

Forget gradual building. This was a strategic, below-radar accumulation of a significant stake in CEA Industries, a firm linked to the core treasury of the BNB ecosystem. The scale? A full order of magnitude beyond what was publicly acknowledged.

Why transparency is a selective sport

Major holdings often get announced with fanfare. This one didn't. The discovery raises immediate questions about governance and disclosure standards within major crypto ecosystems. When a stake this large stays hidden, it's rarely an accounting oops—it's a feature.

The governance grenade

Exposing the stake throws a live question into the room: who benefits from the opacity, and what does it mean for the treasury's stated strategy? It cuts through the usual narrative of flawless decentralized stewardship.

Another day, another reminder that in crypto finance, the most interesting numbers are often the ones you have to go digging for—usually right after someone promises 'full transparency.'

Fresh round of accusations from YZi Labs

In its statement, YZi Labs claims that the 2,376,236 shares recently exercised align mostly with the warrant holdings previously disclosed by 10X Capital’s affiliates. This has raised eyebrows because, under SEC rules, any entity or group acquiring over 5% of a company’s stock needs to file a Schedule 13D to let the public know.

As far as YZi Labs is concerned, 10X Capital and its affiliates are operating as a shadow group, wielding undisclosed influence to entrench the current board without giving in to the transparency required of major stockholders.

According to YZi Labs, if 10X Capital and these inside participants contend that no such “group” existed, they need to explain to stockholders how the tools used to deploy hostile entrenchment tactics do not constitute concerted action requiring SEC disclosure.

YZi Labs and CEA Industries continue to trade accusations

CEA Industries was originally a cannabis-linked company, but it pivoted in the middle of 2025 to become the world’s largest publicly traded corporate treasury focused on BNB.

That pivot was facilitated by a $500 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal that closed in August 2025, led by 10X Capital as the asset manager, with backing from heavy hitters like YZi Labs.

It positioned BNC as an institutional gateway for US-based investors to gain access to the BNB ecosystem, and there were plans to allocate the majority of the funds to BNB holdings, subject to market conditions.

The partnership went sideways in late 2025, and around that time, we reported that YZi Labs had accused 10X Capital and BNC management of strategic drift. YZi Labs, in an official release, specifically alleged BNC’s CEO David Namdar had at a November 2025 industry conference claimed that BNC had contemplated switching to other crypto assets, like Solana.

“Ultimately, stockholders deserve to be represented by a Board that is committed to the token strategy in which they invested,” the official statement read.

As a result, YZi Labs tried to expand the board in an attempt to install its own directors as executives, but the BNC board launched a series of defensive measures, making that avenue difficult.

These included the infamous poison pill shareholder rights plan and bylaw amendments, moves YZi Labs tagged unfriendly to stockholders.

Secret side agreement compounds tensions

CEA Industries has raised allegations of a secret side agreement between YZi Labs and 10X Capital drafted in 2025 to divert a portion of BNC’s asset management fees to YZi Labs without defined services.

YZi Labs reportedly terminated the agreement on December 11, 2025, waiving future fees; however, BNC’s board nevertheless blamed it for delaying AMA revisions and demanded full disclosure of its terms.

YZi Labs has denied the claims and labeled them a cheap PR smear campaign. The firm is reportedly treating it as an attempt by the board to hijack the narrative, hoping to hide their failure to properly manage the BNB treasury.

Join a premium crypto trading community free for 30 days - normally $100/mo.